assez

This is not the kind of Chinese BL tormenting red-flag situation we are dealing with here. Part of the charm is in the delivery: how the two main leads say and do what they are supposed to, how they embody their characters, and how incredibly cute, adorable, and dream-come-true the whole thing feels.

Do we still make a distinction between a dream come true and a realistic type of series? Because this is not a realistic series. This is a comfort series. The kind you put on knowing it is going to end well, and you get to watch two adorable people navigate dangerous situations, come from completely different backgrounds and have entirely different personalities, only to gradually realize they are into each other. And then we get to enjoy the question of how they are going to bridge all those differences.

I honestly don't know what the discussion surrounding this series is all about, and I don't particularly care to find out. I am not going to dig into it. For me, this series is the embodiment of sweetness and cuteness. I could analyze it if I wanted to, but I simply don't want to. And that is where it ends for me. The actual result of this production is exactly to my liking. I think it appeals to the very spot it intends to reach, and it does that well.

It has also been a great counterpart to the other two currently airing series, both of which have considerably higher ratings, or at least the potential to receive them. And I honestly don't understand why.

One of them is *Police in Love*, which I would genuinely love to love, but there are some major fuck-ups that make it difficult. And hearing the actors talk about the investments made in their last two BL projects makes me wonder whether those "investments" = read sacrifices were worth it. Anyways, the talk about it from the main leads is offputting to say the least.

Then we have the Domundi Project's *Mr. Fanboy*. Having seen Zee and NuNew in their previous work, I feel like I am watching the same creative patterns being recycled. The first five episodes have incredible drive, and then we get these beautifully executed, step-by-step love scenes where the the build-up excels (they are truly done here beautifully) but everything else gradually becomes something you stop being interested in. It turns boring incredibly quickly (and feels as if the people with different faces did the same kind of job over and over again).

I am starting to feel that this is becoming a recurring issue with their projects, including some I liked the most. They seem to customize the first few episodes, deliver their beautifully crafted intimate scenes, and then have very little left to keep the story engaging. The momentum just disappears.

At first, I thought perhaps the problem was with me. But then I realized that Chinese productions can maintain tension, intrigue, and interest from the very first episode to the very last. They know how to keep a story moving without creating such a huge discrepancy between the initial promise and what follows.

Even when I tried checking out another highly praised and acknowledged series from them, I found myself bored already in the first episode. And it wasn't just because we were getting another student setting. It was because I could see Zee and NuNew in everything ("style of humor" you can call it, I guess, only the style isn't Zee's and isn't NN's). Their style of doing things has become so recognizable that I keep seeing the same patterns reflected in other actors, even when the production quality itself has improved.

I don't want to see Zee and NuNew in every single project coming out of that company. I don't want to anticipate everyone's moves because I have already seen them performed elsewhere. I want variety. I want change. I want creative evolution. Please learn from the fuck-ups of previous projects instead of repeating the same formula.

And then there is this series, where I simply don't have those problems.

That doesn't mean I think it couldn't be improved. If we wanted to examine certain aspects more critically, there would certainly be room to take things up a few notches. But when you take the series for what it actually is, I feel they have done a genuinely great job.

So, whoever is disappointed or doesn't like it, I honestly don't know why. And I am not going to dig around trying to figure it out. You are probably looking at aspects of the series that I am not looking at at all, and that's perfectly fine. It's good to have different perspectives so we can identify weak points, discuss them, and hopefully learn from them.

But I also feel like someone is already after these people's throats, so I don't need to be the black sheep and join in just for the sake of criticism.

I liked it. I really liked it.

I think this is one of the projects I have gotten the most out of recently. It doesn't make the major mistakes I keep encountering in the other two aforementioned series, and I am genuinely grateful for that. I wasn't asking for anything more.

I love the actors' style, the way they portray their characters, and how naturally everything seems to fit together. Their performances are so in tune with the characters, the storytelling, and the overall tone of the series. It just works for me.

And that is a big plus.

I am a critical person, so take that for what it is. This was one of the GMMTV projects I had actually been looking forward to after quite a long time, and I am very happy with what I got.

Sometimes a series doesn't need to be more than what it promises to be. And this one delivered exactly the kind of sweetness, comfort, and adorable dream-come-true experience I wanted.

I love it.